The workplace harassment epidemic has been exposed. Do you know what to look for and what to do about it?
There are so many types of workplace harassment and so many interpretations that even the most diligent HR professional could miss the signs.
With a more thorough understanding of workplace harassment, you’re better equipped to help a victim deal with their experiences, file (or help file) a harassment complaint and implement office training.
By the end of this guide, you will be able to identify 11 of the most common types of workplace harassment and how they might intersect. Plus, we’ll share three expert tips for reducing harassment in the office.
Discriminatory Harassment
All unlawful workplace harassment is discriminatory in nature. But, unlike verbal or physical harassment, discriminatory harassment is defined by its intentions instead of how it’s carried out.
In this case, the bully is harassing the victim because, at least in part, they’re a member of a protected class.
The more common and recognisable forms of discriminatory harassment are described in more detail below.
Racial Harassment
A victim may experience racial harassment because of their race, skin color, ancestry, origin country or citizenship.
Even perceived attributes of a certain ethnicity (curly hair, accents, customs, beliefs or clothing) may be the cause. Racial harassment often looks like:
Racial slurs
Racial insults
Racial jokes
Degrading comments
Disgust
Intolerance of differences
Gender Harassment
Gender-based harassment is discriminatory behaviour towards a person based on their gender.
Negative gender stereotypes about how men and women should or do act are often the center of the harassment. Some examples are:
A male nurse faces harassment for having what is perceived as a woman’s job
A female banker hits the glass ceiling and taunted for not being “leader material”
A male colleague displays material (comics, posters) that’s degrading to women
Religious Harassment
Religious harassment is often interconnected with racial harassment but narrows in specifically on the victim’s religious beliefs.
An individual with a religion that differs from the “norm” of the company may face workplace harassment or intolerance in a variety of ways:
Intolerance toward religious holidays
Intolerance toward religious traditions
Intolerance toward religious customs
Cruel religious jokes
Degrading stereotypical comments
Pressures to convert religions
Disability-Based Harassment
Disability-based harassment is a type of workplace harassment directed towards individuals who either:
Suffer from a disability themselves
Are acquainted with a disabled person or people
Use disability services (sick leave or workers’ comp)
A person with a disability may experience harassment in the form of harmful teasing, patronising comments, refusals to reasonably accommodate or isolation.
Sexual Orientation-Based Harassment
Sexual orientation-based harassment is starting to gain traction and recognition as a legitimate type of workplace harassment. Victims face harassment because their sexual orientation is different from those around them.
People of any sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, etc.) may experience this form of harassment depending on their line of work.
For example, a homosexual man may face harassment on a construction site whereas a heterosexual man may be teased for working in a salon.
Age-Based Harassment
Workers 40 years and older are specifically protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in an attempt to promote the employment of older people and reduce age-based harassment.
A person facing age-based harassment might be:
Teased and insulted,
Left out of activities or meetings, or
Unfairly criticised…
…Simply because of their age and the stereotypes that come with it. Unfortunately, this harassment is sometimes an attempt to wrongfully push the individual into early retirement.
Personal Harassment
Personal harassment is a form of workplace harassment that’s not based on one of the protected classes (such as race, gender or religion).
Simply, it’s bullying in its most basic form and it’s not illegal but can be damaging nevertheless. Examples of Personal Harassment Personal harassment includes:
Inappropriate comments
Offensive jokes
Personal humiliation
Critical remarks
Ostracising behaviours
Intimidation tactics
Or any other behaviour that creates an intimidating and offensive work environment for the victim.
Physical Harassment
Physical harassment, also often called workplace violence, refers to a type of workplace harassment that involves physical attacks or threats. In extreme cases, physical harassment may be classified as assault.
Physical gestures such as playful shoving can blur the line between appropriate or not since it’s the person on the receiving end who decides whether the behaviour makes them uncomfortable.
In order to more clearly define that line, physical harassment should be taken very seriously in the workplace and explained thoroughly in codes of conduct and policies. Examples of Physical Harassment Common behaviours include:
Direct threats of intent to inflict harm
Physical attacks (hitting, shoving, kicking)
Threatening behaviour (shaking fists angrily)
Destroying property to intimidate
Industries at Risk
Employees in some industries are more at higher risk of workplace violence. These include healthcare workers, peace officers, social services employees, teachers and educators, retail staff and public transit drivers.
Power Harassment
Power harassment is a common form of workplace harassment that’s characterised by a power disparity between the harasser and the harassed.
The harasser exercises their power by bullying a victim who is lower on the office hierarchy.
In many cases, the harasser is a supervisor or manager who victimises their subordinates.
Power harassment isn’t limited to a certain type of behaviour. It can be verbal in the form of intimidation or it can be physical in the form of acts of violence.
More often than not it’s psychological. The harasser subjects the victim to:
Excessive demands that are impossible to meet
Demeaning demands far below the employee’s capability
Intrusion into the employee’s personal life
Psychological Harassment
Psychological harassment has a negative impact on a person’s psychological well-being.
Victims of psychological harassment often feel put down and belittled on a personal level, a professional level or both.
The damage to a victim’s psychological well-being often creates a domino effect, impacting their physical health, social life and work life. Examples of Psychological Harassment Psychological harassment in the workplace might look like:
Isolating or denying the victim’s presence
Belittling or trivialising the victim’s thoughts
Discrediting or spreading rumours about the victim
Opposing or challenging everything the victim says
Cyberbullying
Employers are embracing new technology in order to appeal to younger employees and reap the benefits of a digitally connected world.
For example, instant messaging applications such as Slack and Workplace by Facebook offer convenience, speed and user-friendly interface.
However, there can be a downside to this digital world.
Cyberbullying and online harassment are a serious concern for employers. Among many, many other things, online bullies may:
Share humiliating things about the victim by mass email or mass chat
Spread lies or gossip about the victim on social media
Send harassing instant messages or text messages directly to the victim
Federal law doesn’t explicitly cover “cyberbullying” yet (particularly for adults).
However, the Department of Justice has noted that legal action is possible by prosecuting the online misbehaviour under another law.
Retaliation
Retaliation harassment is a subtle form of retaliation and an often-overlooked type of workplace harassment.
Retaliation harassment occurs when a person harasses someone else to get revenge and to prevent the victim from behaving in such a way again.
What Does Retaliation Harassment Look Like?
This type of harassment typically has three parts:
Employee A files a complaint about Employee B.
Employee B finds out about the complaint and who made it.
Employee B harasses Employee A to get revenge and deter them from filing further complaints.
Employee B, in this case, would be harassing Employee A as retaliation.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is, simply, harassment that is sexual in nature and generally includes unwanted sexual advances, conduct or behaviour. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of unlawful discrimination and is taken seriously by the courts. Other types of harassment might take some time and increasing severity to create a hostile work environment for the victim, whereas sexual harassment typically brings about discomfort and negatively impacts the victims’ life immediately. Examples of Sexual Harassment:
Sharing sexual photos (pornography)
Posting sexual posters
Sexual comments, jokes, questions
Inappropriate sexual touching
Inappropriate sexual gestures
Invading personal space in a sexual way
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
Quid pro quo, translated to “this for that”, is a type of exchange-based sexual harassment.
If job benefits are offered to an employee on the condition that they partake in some form of sexual conduct, it’s typically referred to as quid pro quo sexual harassment.
In this situation, the harasser, who is often a manager or senior-level employee, may offer something of value for a sexual favour. It can also be a form of blackmail.
Examples of Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment In exchange for romantic or sexual services, the victim may:
Receive a job offer
Receive a promotion
Receive a raise
Receive opportunities
Avoid a demotion
Avoid termination
Quid pro quo sexual harassment can be either explicit or implicit. The harasser may outright ask for the exchange or may hint at it (“Don’t you want this job?”).
Third Party Harassment
Third-party harassment is a type of workplace harassment that’s perpetrated by a “third party” – someone from outside of the organisation.
Instead of the perpetrator being a boss, supervisor or colleague, he or she is a vendor, supplier, customer or client of the company.
Victims are often young adults in “low-status” or “low-power” jobs (think: cashier or sales associate). Their position in the company, their lack of experience and their reluctance to cause a scene make them ideal victims.
Because third party harassment doesn’t fit the typical narrative, it remains under-recognised and is often swept under the rug. Regardless of who the harasser is, an employer’s responsibility to take steps to stop the behaviour is the same.
Verbal Harassment
Verbal harassment can be the result of personality conflicts in the workplace that have escalated beyond the casual eye roll or something more serious.
Unlike discriminatory types of harassment (such as sexual), verbal abuse is often not illegal. Instead, verbal harassment can be someone who’s consistently mean or unpleasant.
For this reason, a lot of verbal harassment can be particularly damaging since it goes unnoticed and unresolved. Obvious verbal harassment behaviours include things like threatening, yelling, insulting or cursing at a victim in public or in private. If this is aimed at someone in a protected class, it is unlawful. Dr. Gary Namie, a workplace bullying expert, found trends in the negative effects of verbal abuse at work. It’s common, he says, to have feelings of shame and guilt, loss of passions and even increased blood pressure.
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